In this minor, you learn how to contribute to creating a society without waste. One that is more restorative by design and aimed at keeping products, components and materials at their highest utility and value throughout their life cycles. You learn this on the job by working on circular challenges from a variety of companies, in practical workshops offering you a wide range of topics and as a professional, how to network effectively and get things done. The knowledge and skills that you acquire in this minor are of great value in your career and in all types of jobs.

This is a dual language minor. This means at the start of the minor you choose whether to follow the English language version or the hybrid type. In the hybrid type, the theory is offered in English, but project work, coaching and project deliverables will be in Dutch.

 

The relevance of the minor

An economy that is built on the principles of take-make-waste is no longer tenable. From an economic perspective we encounter shortages of critical resources more frequently. From an environmental perspective, mountains of waste pollute our planet and are poisoning our food system. The production system itself contributes to global warming due to its dependency on fossil energy sources. From a human perspective, the current economic system is hazardous to our physical and mental health.

The circular economy is more restorative by design and aims to keep products, components and materials at their highest utility and value throughout its life cycle. 

Value creation is one of the central tenets of the circular economy, economically, environmentally, and socially. What value is created or destroyed? In sum, what is the net impact of products and services that are produced and used?

On a global level the need for this transition is acknowledged. In the Paris Climate Agreement of 2015, 196 countries pledged to keep the rise of the global average temperature well below 2 0Celsius. On a national level, the Dutch Government strives for a fully circular economy by 2050, and in 2030 we need to be halfway. 

This transition will affect all of us. As a consumer, as a public policy maker and as a business. In that regard, you are privy to an interesting point in time. How do you make such a major transition? And what does it mean for consumers, policymakers, businesses, and educators? How can waste be transformed into valuable resources? What technologies are needed? How to scale these new technologies rapidly? How can we substitute fossil-based materials with biobased ones? How do we market these new products? What are the implications for our financial systems? What should an organisation invest in, looking at all these developments? What legislation is required to support the change?  

There are many questions to be answered. In this minor you learn how you can contribute to the transition as a consumer, and as a professional. You will collaborate with organisations on solving issues to pave the way to a circular transition. Since this minor’s inception, students have helped numerous organisations to cope with challenges in the transition to a circular economy.

 

Type of projects

Every year we develop several projects together with our partners in the field. The projects need to fit with one of the research themes of the professorship circular economy. These are changing behaviour of consumers and entrepreneurs, designing sustainable business models, and transforming the value chain (see figure 1). About half of the minor time (14 ECTS out of 30) is spent on a project in a group of 4-6 students. For each project a description is available at the start of the minor.

Below are several examples of projects students worked on in the past few years.

 

Changing consumer behaviour

• Designing and developing approaches that combat pollution of textiles in textile containers
• Cocreate an alternative menu for iconic restaurants in Rotterdam together with the Rotterdam Climate Alliance.
• Develop a marketing approach for the municipality of Rotterdam and second hand stores and repair shops that increases the visibility of these places to extend the longevity of clothes.

 

Designing sustainable business models

• Researching opportunities for end-of-life solutions for batteries and shore power cables for partners of A&M Recycling.
• Develop market entry strategies for new biobased materials and products such as leather made of tomato stems, leaves, and in a bio-composite for various startups in Blue City and Eindhoven’s Material Sense Lab.
• For the urban miner project of Dura Vermeer investigate the market and impacts of rotor blade applications for noise abatement shields along the Dutch highways.

 

Transforming the value chain

• Research blockchain applications for sharing resources at Industrial Park Halfweg-Molenwatering.
• Design sustainable collaborations for the businesses located in Schiedistrict.
• Investigate the future of valueless textile waste for Eigendraads and Circle Economy to see how textile material loops can be closed. This project has now expanded in several European countries under the name of Sorting4Circularity in collaboration with Fashion4Good.

Programme
Dual language programme
Students choose in week one if they wish to participate in an all-English programme or a hybrid programme. In the hybrid version of the minor, all activities and deliverables of the field and the individual project will be in Dutch, whereas the theory offered in the workshops, guest lectures, hackathon and the fieldtrips will be in English.

The project (in total 14 ECTS) requires students to work on the assignment as a group 2 to 3 days per week, with the support of a coach and in collaboration with the client organisation(s).

After an orientation phase of four weeks, students present their interpretation of the assignment and a proposal in week 5. For the ensuing 11 weeks students work on the implementation of that plan.

Students are in the lead when it comes to developing a solid theoretical foundation. In the first 8 weeks, students choose from the combined offer of 8 workshops they wish to follow. The workshop menu covers four areas. Students select workshops from all these areas and must complete an assessment for one workshop per area (4 assessments in total). For the other workshops, students prepare a reflection report that will be part of their professional development.

The workshop menu includes (subject to change):

1. Research methods (literature research, qualitative data analysis, quantitative data analysis)
2. Circular in action (sustainable business modelling, biobased applications, circular product design, circular supply chain management, transition management)
3. Impact assessment (life cycle assessment foundation and advanced, social life cycle assessment, life cycle costing),
4. Tools for the circular economy (blockchain, platform models, financial basics, funding sustainable business models, calculating the business case).

 

In the second block, students work to deepen their theoretical foundation by focusing on a circular topic they are interested in, with the aim of sharing this understanding with the outside world by means of writing an e-book or a literature review, developing and delivering a workshop, developing a podcast or documentary, or designing a product. For the personal reflection component, students develop a knowledge-learning goal related to the circular economy and a skills goal in week one and evaluate their competencies. Based on these insights, they develop a professional performance plan on which they work the remainder of the minor.   

More information can be found on Fieldlab Circular Economy

 

• Can impress others with knowledge about the circular economy. You will have a thorough understanding of key concepts, frameworks, models, drivers, obstacles, and insights and how this differs from the linear economy.   
• Owns achievements and disseminates knowledge on various platforms, such as the Impact Cafe of Blue City and the Circular Harvest.   
• Possesses sound research skills as evidenced in a transparent and systematic collection and analysis of data, reporting of research and findings and critically evaluating the credibility of research. This will surely help you with your graduation research. 
• Demonstrates problem-solving skills in creating a feasible solution for a Circular Economy project. 
• Can evaluate the implications of a circular solution from a financial, environmental, and social perspective. 
• Comes across as a curious professional who collaborates effectively with all stakeholders of the Fieldlab, manages expectations and delivers results.  
• Develops a network with circular minded individuals.  

The minor is open to all students meeting the minor entrance requirements of the university. We encourage students from other domains to participate: the transition to a circular economy is a multidisciplinary effort.

Assessment overview 

 

Aspect 

Block 1 

Block 2 

Knowledge (theory)  

 

Individual assessment 

RBSCEC01 

 

Workshop portfolio of 8 workshops: 

• Quizzes, assignments etc of 4 workshops that you participated in (covering four core domains). 
• Reflection reports for 4 other workshops. 

 

The average grade needs to be 5.5 or higher. No assessment may be lower than 4.0. All elements need to be submitted. 

5 ECTS 

RBSCEC02 

 

Individual CE project (workshop, e-book, literature review, free form) 

Participation in the hackathon, field trips, and guest lectures (90% participation required, assessment based on pass/fail). Compensation activities are required to address deficiencies and receive a grade for the individual project. 

 

The grade needs to be 5.5 or higher. 

No assessment may be lower than 4.0. 

5 ECTS 

Practice 

(Project) 

 

Group assessment 

Formative assessment 

Weekly progress reports to all stakeholders involved (organisation, team members, coach and buddy coach). 

 

Presentation of the project proposal in week 5 based on solid research (coach, plenary and client).  

 

RBSCEC03 

 

Report (60%) 

Presentations (plenary, company) (20%) 

Case study report (20%) 

 

The weighted average grade must be 5.5 or higher with all components having been submitted.  

No assessment may be lower than 4.0. 

15 ECTS 

Professional performance 

 

Individual assessment 

 

Formative weeks 4 & 8, 14 

Learning agreement, learning plan. Intermediate assessment interviews. 

 

 

 

RBSCEC04 

 

Portfolio and interview (competencies, learning log, supporting evidence) with two coaches. 

 

Grade needs to be 5.5 or higher. 

5 ECTS 

Total 

 

5 ECTS 

 

25 ECTS 

 

• The result of each module is measured on a scale from 1 – 10. 
• For the grading of the modules, check the appendix.  
• Continuous feedback is provided during the block. 
• Period of validity for all elements is as stipulated in the OER.  
• Resits for block 1 are scheduled at the end of the block; the resits for block 2 are due at the end of block 2. Only in special circumstances may resits be deferred to the end of block 3.  

Literature

The field of Circular Economy is changing rapidly. Innovations, frameworks, and cases come to light every day. All literature that we use is open source and are accessible via our library.

Software tools

• Reference manager ENDNOTE – free licence available via the library of RUAS.
• SPSS – purchase at Surfnet (www.surfspot.org) for Euro 10, using your HR registration details
• LCA tool – CCALC2 http:www.ccalc.org.uk/ccalc2.php (For Windows only)
• Agent Based Modelling - Wilensky, U. (1999). Netlogo. Evanston, IL: Center for Connected Learning and Computer-Based Modeling, Northwestern University. Retrieved from http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/. 

Travel support
Students without a subsidised OV card can claim travel expenses when these are made to locations outside Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences.

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